Mendaki Research Report - Living on a tight budget in Singapore (A qualitative study of 25 Malay/Muslim low-income households)

I recently chanced upon this research report by Mendaki and will like to share some of the key information in it.

Executive summary -

• The purpose of this research paper is to shed light in the lives of low-income Malay Muslim households in Singapore, in order to understand their vulnerability to shocks, their daily challenges and needs, as well as their aspirations and perceptions about the future. The research team interviewed 25 such households over the course of 15 months, in three rounds of in-depth interviews including a detailed household survey. 
• Using both open-ended and closed-ended questions, we were able to triangulate qualitative and quantitative data to increase the reliability of our findings and obtain deeper insights unattainable through large-scale survey questionnaires. The richness of the narratives gathered as part of this research highlights the best and worst moments in the lives of these households, and consequently, demonstrates the complexity in addressing their diverse needs. 
• From a policy perspective, the research aims to provide evidence on how to improve support and services offered to low-income Malay Muslim households, and initiate new ways to address their needs.

Objectives -

1. To attain in-depth understanding of the households’ everyday lifestyle
2. Identify the extent to which low-income households are aware of, and benefited from, the presently available assistance schemes within the social service sector
3. Understand the coping mechanisms and resilience from low-income households, when faced with multiple difficulties.

Key findings -

1. Most respondents felt ill equipped to help their children in their homework. This was often due to the rigor of the educational system and the lack of familiarity with the curriculum, which differed significantly from the curriculum from the previous generation. 
2. As part of coping mechanisms, many households in our sample could not afford proper nutrition, and stated that the cost of education put them under financial strain. 
3. The most important concern for Malay Muslim low-income households is related to health, which illustrates the high level of vulnerability of low-income households to health crises, leading to potential lack of income. Second, lack of stable employment surfaces as another important vicious cycle. Third, stress related to raising children and the difficulties in supporting children in their education.
4. The level of awareness about available support is low for households with weaker social ties, thereby increasing their vulnerability, and there is a relatively poor knowledge on the extent of support available in Singapore. 
5. The reasons provided for not seeking assistance vary greatly, from a lack of awareness, a sense of pride, to a strong sense of personal responsibility. 
6. In general, parents are optimistic about their children’s future financial stability, and no one perceived it as potentially worse. 
7. Wishes for the Singapore Community include fairness across ethnic groups and looking out more for one another, alluding to an increasingly individualistic society. 
8. Many respondents regret not studying further in their youth. 
9. Identifying and removing the fundamental bottlenecks that prevent low-income households from moving upwards socio-economically is a long-term process, because it involves fundamental institutional and social changes. This requires an in-depth re-examination of current strategies (and activities) and their underlying assumptions, and demand open and empathetic leadership at all levels. 
10. Life priorities and aspirations must be acknowledged and understood further, such that support (to reach these aspirations) can be aligned accordingly, and be demand driven. Indeed, different aspirations lead to different needs, and require an adaptive institutional approach.
11. The results of this study call for a more individualized approach to addressing needs, according to age, and education background of the parents and primary care takers (including grandparents) and complementary assistance required by the school going children. 
12. In terms of facilitating access to support, improving awareness and outreach would require proactivity and advocacy. The research findings suggest not just a need to refine targeted support services but also to raise awareness about social assistance. 
13. For many, their daily pressures are compounded by a significant degree of isolation, that easily becomes a vicious cycle of poverty and ultimately, neglect. 
14. Finally, there is undoubtedly a lack of voice for many low-income households, especially those headed by elderly individuals and having major responsibilities such as taking care of grandchildren, sometimes referred to as the ‘skip generation’ households.

Conclusions -

For most low-income households in this study, health shocks and loss of income deepens their vulnerability, and at times lead to serious deprivation, including nutritional deprivation. Therefore, beyond showcasing successes and providing role models, there is a need to break vicious cycles and reinforce virtuous cycle. Finally, in order to improve resilience and strengthen coping mechanisms, attention should be paid to closely monitor coping mechanisms and to study the role of social capital in supporting low income households, as these dynamics change very rapidly.

1. Children and Education 
• Education is one of the key activities for MENDAKI. Despite the importance given to children’s education by all households in this study, we find that lack of income is only one of the many constraints they faced. Parents and caretakers also mention lack of time, lack of confidence, low self-esteem, as well as lack of familiarity with the curriculum, which compounds their difficulties in providing adequate support to the children under their care. 
• The results of this study call for a more individualized approach to addressing needs, according to age, and education background of the parents and primary care takers (including grandparents) and complementary assistance required by the school going children. 
• The findings suggest that MENDAKI could consider engaging further in the following: 
• A holistic approach to supporting children’s education by targeting groups of parents and caretakers to provide them with skills, knowledge and self-confidence necessary to enable them to support their children’s education. This would complement the direct support provided to the school-going children in many of the existing programs and would also empower parents and caretakers.
• Major advocacy and awareness campaigns about the issues faced by low-income households on the challenges they encounter in supporting their children’s education. Conduct research specifically on this important topic and bring this evidence at the attention of policy-makers. 
• Hands-on guidance parents and caretakers on the types of assistance available to them and their children regarding educational support. Take a more individualized approach to support targeted groups such as low-income households headed by elderly taking care of their grand children and households including handicapped children.
• Various modes support and strategies can be taken by civil society organizations to support low-income households facing difficulties in assisting in their children’s education. A proactive approach would involve working directly with schools and teachers in identifying students that come irregularly to school and who are lagging behind academically. 
• There is a need for greater role in advocacy, such as providing information on the type of support available to parents and students, and enabling a feedback mechanism or channel for parents and children in difficulty. 
• Finally, within a broad ranging perspective, is would be appropriate to reappraise institutional strength and weaknesses in the Singapore educational system, to remove some of the main remaining impediments and bottlenecks faced by low-income Malay Muslim households, so that they achieve educational gains at all levels.
2. Awareness and Perceptions about Social Assistance
• For social service providers, the findings of this research point towards a need to better understand the systemic bottlenecks faced by low-income households due to the administrative requirements during the application and renewal process. 
• The results may reveal a need to simplify procedures, provide hands on guidance to the prospective beneficiaries and to invest in staff training, both on a technical and soft skills perspective. In terms of facilitating access to support, improving awareness and outreach would require proactivity and advocacy. 
• The research findings suggest not just a need to refine targeted support services but also to raise awareness about social assistance, such as in the following ways: 
• Conduct door-to-door campaigns to raise awareness and provide information on support available to low-income households.
• Providing assistance during the process of requesting for assistance either by providing transportation and/or helping with the paperwork itself. 
• Proactively sending out widespread information on the types and sources of support available and the application process. Identify appropriate communication channels beyond those currently used. 
• Accompany first-time households or those facing particular difficulties, assisting staff in handing complex cases in a sensitive manner.
• Identify and target protection and support to vulnerable and isolated households, including households headed by elderly individuals. Tailoring support for elderly income earners, and grandparents taking care of grand children. 
• Provide financial management skills and guidance in managing personal budgets.
• Our findings suggest that, for many, their daily pressures are compounded by a significant degree of isolation, that easily becomes a vicious cycle of poverty and ultimately, neglect. Therefore, it would be important for civil society organisations to give priority over the provision of specialized support (e.g. from psychologists and social workers) with whom low-income households could voice their concerns confidentially.
• Beyond providing a listening ear, a complementary strategy should look into the development of accessible channels through which low-income households could voice their concerns (either individually or as a group) for advocacy purposes and to help inform the design of targeted services. 
3. Broader Implications 
• The broader implications of our findings and the larger scale considerations suggest the need for a revived advocacy role for Malay Muslim organizations. Many issues need to be tackled head on, from an advocacy perspective. 
• There is undoubtedly a lack of voice for many low-income households, especially those headed by elderly individuals and having major responsibilities such as taking care of grandchildren, sometimes referred to as the ‘skip generation’ households. Based on our findings, ‘skip generation’ households often emerge out of sheer necessity, rather than on a voluntary basis. 
• Another aspect of this advocacy role is to address the lack of information on the available support, the rights and the processes to obtain support, for households who find themselves unable to make the first step due to the stigma attached with obtaining or asking for support. In sum, an important area to address is to correct mis-perceptions and misinformation associated with applying for and receiving support. 

Thoughts:

1. One challenge to reach out to this group of people that I felt was missing is the language barrier due to the multi-racial background of the Singapore society. While younger Malay Muslim families might be able to converse in English, the seniors might only be able to share their information in Malay.
2. That said, there are also few Malay social work practitioners that can help to meet this demand for Malay speakers too. As such, the Government might want to explore how to shift manpower to staff the sector too.
3. Lastly, reaching out to these low income families might be a challenge in Singapore as there is a shortage of social workers, and the Government also does not want to be seen as being too much a welfare state by promoting social assistance to the families. It might be a tricky balance too, to outreach the Malay Muslim groups only as it might signal that there is something fundamentally wrong among the community. 

Thoughts anyone?

Yours,

Something Small Thinking Big